Australian Market Slightly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is slightly lower on Friday, extending the losses in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,200 level, following the mixed cues from global markets overnight, dragged by weakness s in energy and mining stocks amid tumbling iron ore and crude oil prices, partially offset by gains in technology and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 4.40 points or 0.06 percent to 7,247.50, after hitting a low of 7,237.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 6.80 points or 0.09 percent to 7,442.90. Australian markets ended slightly lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is declining almost 2 percent, while Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto are losing more than 1 percent each. Mineral Resources is edging up 0.5 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is losing more than 1 percent and Origin Energy is edging down 0.3 percent, while Santos and Beach energy are down almost 1 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Xero is edging up 0.3 percent and Appen is advancing almost 2 percent. Zip is flat. Among the big four banks, Westpac, ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are gaining almost 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank is edging up 0.4 percent.

Gold miners are weak. Gold Road Resources is losing almost 3 percent, Evolution Mining is declining almost 4 percent and Northern Star Resources is down more than 3 percent, while Resolute Mining and Newcrest Mining are slipping more than 2 percent each.

In other news, shares in QBE Insurance are down almost 4 percent despite hiking its gross written premium growth forecast for fiscal 2023, with expectation that premium rate increases will remain supportive.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.670 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks came under pressure in early trading on Thursday but regained ground over the course of the session. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq reaching positive territory.

The Nasdaq rose 22.06 points or 0.2 percent to 12,328.51, its best closing level in over eight months. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 dipped 7.02 points or 0.2 percent to 4,130.62 and the Dow slid 221.82 points or 0.7 percent to 33,309.51.

The major European markets also turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index eased by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Thursday amid uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand, while a firm dollar also weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $1.69 or 2.3 percent at $70.87 a barrel.